Alone Together
by Stephane Richer
Summary: I'm on deck now, I'm up next, Tonight I'm as high as a private jet.


Alone Together

Disclaimer: I don't own Fall Out Boy's "Alone Together" or Fujimaki Tadatoshi's _Kuroko no Basuke._

* * *

Aomine Daiki is a basketball superstar who could really do without the fame and fortune, honestly. As long as he has strong opponents, a court, and a basketball, he's fine with playing for pennies. But such is life, and anyway if he didn't make any money he couldn't be here right now, in the airport in a fancy suit waiting for his best friend's flight in from Japan (which he would have paid for had said best friend not had great connections through his flight school). He wouldn't even be in the United States, probably. But that's neither here nor there.

Nevertheless, the paparazzi follows him everywhere and when one has (as he certainly does) heightened awareness of one's surroundings, people following one around are even more annoying than they are to the normal person. They aren't even trying to hide the flashbulbs. Amateurs. He debates whether he should just give them the finger but that might cause trouble with the airport people and he really doesn't want Kise calling him up (as he undoubtedly would, if the situation were to arise) and screaming, "Aominecchi! Why aren't you here? Don't leave me!" and making a scene (which he'll do anyway).

His flight is supposed to have arrived by now. It's hard to estimate flight times down to the minute, though, especially when they're going such a long distance. As if on cue, however, his phone vibrates. It's a text from Kise, "I'm here Aominecchi! :3 Meet me at carousel 6A."

Typical. He gets up, runs his fingers through his hair. The blue hair and large hands draw stares and recognition. Luckily, today no one asks for an autograph. The airport is full of mostly jet-lagged people waiting to go off on vacation or get home for the holidays. IT's busy, and there are so many other things to look at. The paparazzi won't let him escape, and all the way down the escalator and through the halls, flashbulbs hit off his back. Don't these people have their own goddamn vacations to jet off to? Apparently not.

He gets there before Kise does. Typical. The blonde is probably off flirting with the flight attendants or distracted in a gift shop and buying a million things for his sisters. Aomine sighs. Then he feels the crush of strong arms around his chest and the flashbulbs are off again.

"Aominecchi!"

"How did I know you were going to make a scene?" he grumbles. "Get off me."

"Fine…" Kise whines, removing his arms and crossing them over his chest. "Aominecchi is so mean. We haven't seen each other since the summer!"

"Yeah, yeah." Aomine can tell he's blushing, and the cameras don't quit. "What does your bag look like?"

"It's blue leather." And huge, apparently, as Kise points excitedly at a bulging bag matching his description that must weigh at least a hundred pounds.

"Did they really let you check that thing?" And why the hell did he need to pack that much?

Kise ignores him and plucks it off the carousel. He's still strong (not that that should surprise Aomine, but it does. It's not like he looks totally skinny and weak.) and carrying the thing is no problem for him, even though he keeps dropping terribly obvious hints that he'd like Aomine's help. Aomine just shrugs, because it's not like Kise absolutely had to bring this much crap.

The paparazzi are growing bolder. Being with someone who looks friendly and cheerful does wonders (well, the opposite of wonders if one was to ask Aomine) for Aomine's approachability.

"Hey, Aomine, who's this guy?"

"Is this your boyfriend?"

"Is he a model?"

Aomine just ignores them all. Unfortunately for him, Kise feels compelled to give these people his life story, and so they waste what feels like an hour and Aomine wants to die. How does Kise stand this at all, let alone thrive in it? Perhaps it's his modeling background? No, it's just his personality. The dude loves the limelight. Aomine finally has had way more than enough and grabs Kise's hand and starts to run, and oh fuck, he can hear the paparazzi shouting to one another, not even bothering with discretion (then again, they never do): "They're definitely dating!"

Not that Aomine would mind dating Kise. Well, in theory. Because Kise has the best fuck-me eyes of anyone he's ever seen, and he's seen professional bedroom eyes and they still pale in comparison to this guys. Not to mention the rest of his body, which is just so fucking perfect, built for basketball (those hands, oh, god, he can just imagine them running up and down his cock and it almost makes him shudder right then and there as he's running through the airport especially when they touch his, all soft and light and with that perfectly sensitive touch even though you'd expect callouses everywhere) and that small mouth, pursed or puckered or oh god why. And it's not even really the physical things that really attract him because, okay that was totally it initially but usually when he's attracted to someone physically he gets to know them and starts to hate them but this guy is different because he loves basketball, falls into it, into loving it the way Aomine falls into loving him, lurching and uncontrolled and sudden and it's beautiful the way he just seems to have a boundless affinity, the way every day he gets more graceful and Aomine has to turn it up another notch in their 1-on-1s and the way he confessed to Aomine the night before Aomine left for the US that first time that the reason he didn't enter the NBA draft was because he loves basketball to fucking much to ever do it for money, that he doesn't want someone sucking the love out of him, something that occasionally does trouble Aomine but he shoves it out of there. Because Kise's basketball is pure and instinctive and graceful and oh so very much Aomine's, and he wants to keep all of it to himself as much as possible because he's kind of the cause (if he does say so himself) and he's seen it transform and grow and goddamn it he's totally in love.

But, actually, they kind of live in different countries and even though they text and call and all that they can't see one another and there's definitely something like distance between them. And Aomine's a basketball player and Kise's studying to become a pilot, so no matter where they end up they'll be traveling all the time.

But goddamn it, Aomine's really missed seeing Kise up close, his flawless face and that great confident smile breaking it up and spreading to his eyes and the way his hair is parted and oh fuck has he got it bad.

* * *

Kise is in attendance at the game the next day, although Aomine gave him money for a ticket instead of getting him a reserved seat. Kise rolls his eyes at this, because he doesn't get Aomine's paranoia and hatred of the paparazzi at all, but nevertheless he complies. No one recognizes him, probably because he's dressed down. He's wearing Aomine's jersey, sure, but people probably see him as just another Japanese dude who looks up to his national hero or something. Besides, yesterday's photos were blurry and he was wearing aviator sunglasses and today he's done his hair differently.

The game is wonderful, fast and beautiful and Kise's hands itch and twitch and he wants to play basketball again so badly, needs lit like nothing he's ever known. He doesn't know what he's going to do, doesn't know if it's allowed for Aomine to play one on one with him or anything but there are plenty of people here, and surely one of them will agree to play with him. Even if they're not good, he can adjust his playing level.

Even though he'd rather be playing at this level. He's kept in shape, goes to the gym every day, dodges phantom players and passes the ball to no one, plays one-on-one against himself, analyzes every move. Tonight is not the first time he second-guesses his decision not to pursue a basketball career, but it is the most uncertainty he's felt about it yet.

He doesn't want to mention it to Aomine as they take the train home (it's late and they're in the last car, there's just a sleeping hobo and a couple of self-absorbed high school kids making out in there with them) but the atmosphere is awkward and Aomine can totally tell something's up and asks him silently by nudging ihm and cocking a blue eyebrow and when he makes that face Kise can't refuse his request and spills his guts.

He's not good at keeping things from people, anyway. He's never been good at it. And Aomine grins and ruffles his hair (and it's all he can do to not let his heart beat out of his chest at the touch) and says of course he can play one-on-one with him.

They're technically not allowed in the park after dusk, but they're not suspicious-looking guys. They're dressed in shorts and t-shirts, strange for December but they know they'll be sweating anyway, and they've got their basketball. There's no one around, no lonely kids or shady drug dealers or even any hobos this time.

It's just them and the cold night and the game. Aomine gets first possession because it's his basketball and he starts off quick and reverses direction quickly, Kise almost can't register it but he does but Aomine jumps over him and sinks his shot and grins like the game's already over but then the ball touches Kise's fingers and it's like he's been activated and he's off, too fast, straight into a vanishing drive and a high, fast arcing shot, a thin parabola that sails over Aomine's jump and straight into the basket and they're even.

And faster, harder, they go, feet pounding the pavement and floating in midair alternatively, blocking one another's shots and stealing the ball artfully, until they would be almost afraid to dribble for fear the ball would be stolen except they're them and they will never back down.

They've lost track of the score a long time ago, and it doesn't really even matter anymore because Kise finally won a long time ago and each victory after that one single first is inconsequential unless it follows a defeat (which it has sometimes) but they're neck-in-neck right now and they've both won, and they collapse in a heap under one basket, against one another, sweat mingling, pulses thudding against one another's.

Kise threads his hand through Aomine's because this has made him so much braver and he meets no resistance so he keeps going because they're already here, aren't they?

"You want to be my boyfriend, for real?"

And he holds his breath for a moment that's an eternity for him, sees Aomine's eyes widen a fraction and his mouth twist and feels the rough hand caress his own and then Kise relaxes because it's okay and he knows the answer already but he just needs to hear it now.

"Yes."

It's the most beautiful yes there ever was, the most beautiful he's ever heard, and they hold hands on their way back to Aomine's apartment from the park, leaning in closer because of the cold only Kise admits feeling.

They don't bother with the formalities, just lock the door and remove their clothes and revel in one another because they only have the better part of a week together until who-knows-when, but they won't know if they can beat the long distance and spaces between them physically until they've tried it and they close the distance of centimeters rather quickly as chest meets chest and mouth meets mouth.

* * *

Author's Note: Happy (a couple of hours early) birthday, Kise! Also, NY _Post_ is a tabloid newspaper known for its terribly tasteless pun headlines.


End file.
